I’ve been dying to put my spin on this magical floating candle trend for years, and this Halloween, we finally had the perfect outdoor porch space to hocus pocus my dreams into a reality. And while I wouldn’t label our family as true-blue DIY’ers, the mulit-day task was a frightfully fun way to spend a weekend with the little guy, getting our house ready for the “spookables.” We even tasked him with a few small projects – pulling apart the “fluff” to turn into clouds, loading up the candles with batteries, etc – to keep his little hands busy while we charted our course through this *somewhat* challenging setup.
Magical Floating Candles
One of the most challenging elements of this enchanting display was finding the materials that would work best for our setup. Our porch is not blessed with an external outlet, so finding a battery-operated, weatherproof set of string lights that had the colorful “storm” effect we were looking for was a little exhausting. But find it, we did! The project took roughly two afternoons – one to put together the “clouds” and let them dry and a second to formally hang all of our materials on the porch.
In case you are interested in knowing how we did it – and how you can do it too! – read on for a list of supplies (all Amazon finds) and step-by-step instructions.
Prepare your space and choose a spot in your home to create the magical effect. An area with a low ceiling or in front of a window would work well. We chose to make an outdoor display on our small front porch. Clean the surface well and let it dry completely.
Measure carefully to make sure you know the full size of the space so you can buy the correct size sheet. TIP: Size up on the sheet so you can cut it down to the right dimensions. Our porch space was the perfect size for a twin sheet.
Cut your sheet according to your measurements. Use your spray adhesive to glue the polyester stuffing (our little one enjoyed referring to it as “fluff”) to one side of your sheet. Pull the stuffing apart a bit before gluing it down for that extra fluffy cloud look. No need for the distribution to be perfect, an uneven application of “clouds” makes for a more visually interesting piece.
Back in your location, plan out where you want to stick your 3M hooks to the ceiling. Make sure to account for utility and access if necessary. For us, the home’s entrance was a major obstacle and we needed to make sure candles wouldn’t hit the screen door each time we opened it.
We decided to use the 3M hooks for three purposes – stringing the LED lights, hanging the “cloud” sheet, and hanging the floating candles, so plan a 3M hook path that will work for all – including weight distribution of the sheet. Make sure to stick the 3M hooks on and let them set before hanging anything from them.
String your LED lights through the 3M hook path. Make sure the lights spread out in a way that will feel like the magical “lightning” is rolling across the “clouds.” Since our front porch doesn’t have an electrical outlet, we went with battery-operated string lights. Also, make sure the battery pack is accessible on the side, so you can easily change the batteries when they inevitably go out. Our set used AA batteries.
Hang your “cloud” sheet by cutting holes where the 3M hooks are. If any areas need reinforcements, add a few extra 3M hooks. This may take an hour or two of trial and error.
AddAAA batteries to each of your floating candles and tie on the provided string. Create a small loop and hang one floating candle per 3M hook. Hang them at slightly different heights for a more visually interesting display.
With just a few simple materials and a touch of creativity, we loved transforming our home into a Halloween wonderland filled with floating candles and colorful storms. The only thing missing are thunderstorm sound effects and wizard-worthy musical scores… but that’s something we gather our neighbors would not be too fond of.
Of course, we did end up topping the whole setup off with a delightful display of colorful pumpkins, picked fresh from a local farm. These gorgeous gourds and LED candles with lanterns added just the right touch of Halloween spirit to our otherworldly porch.
Special thanks to the hubby for putting up with my constant need to take photos and videos to document our process.
We are definitely not an “influencer” family and he graciously took on the lead role in my production of “Practical Porch Magic.” ✨
I hope you enjoyed seeing our haunting porch transformation. Let me know if you tried this candle trick – or any other spooky-fun decorating ideas – this Halloween.
As I write this, I am sitting uncomfortably bundled up in our living room, 9ish months pregnant and 3.5 weeks shy of giving birth to our first child. My feet are swollen, my wedding rings no longer fit, and it feels like this baby is doing backflips in my belly. It’s a mildly uncomfortable, wholly beautiful place to be.
But three years ago, I was teetering on the edge of wondering if I would ever start a family.
Mainly because my now-husband had successfully diverted my attention away from anything even hinting at the idea of marriage.
“What’s next for us?” I had asked him that October. To him it may have sounded like a direct dive into “Why aren’t we married yet?” territory, but all I really had on my mind was a commitment to some kind of timeline, particularly moving in together.
The conversation didn’t go my way.
“It’s not really something I’m thinking about right now, babe,” he said in frustration. “I’m in grad school, the holidays are coming, and everything is so crazy.” Obviously, that was not the answer I was looking for; admittedly, what followed wasn’t my best moment. He still calls it out every time we pass the restaurant where the conversation took place.
“There’s the place where I made you mad.”
Yes, babe. I remember.
Contrary to popular belief, I wasn’t upset that he didn’t propose on the spot. I wasn’t expecting anything close to that. But it had taken me about a month to work up the courage to ask the question at all. I finally mustered up the spunk after I truly felt like we might be on the same page. So not only did he shoot me down with one fell swoop, it appeared we weren’t actually on the same page at all. And that was a fairly tough pill for this 30-something, mega-planner to swallow.
Quick backstory: I’ve wanted children since I can remember. I’ve always pictured myself as a mom – twin girls and a boy was how it always manifested in my head – and not having a plan for how to get to that goal stressed me the eff out at times. My twenties hadn’t exactly been ideal breeding ground, with no really serious, long-term relationships to speak of. What I hadn’t yet told Kris (because I actually wanted him to stick around) was that just weeks before he had asked me out on our first date (nearly two years before this story starts), I was making arrangements to see a fertility doctor. Convinced that I would be doomed to repeat my twenties in my thirties, I was resolved to the idea of eventually exploring my dream of motherhood solo, and was preparing to embark on egg freezing.
So when I did end up meeting this funny, amazing human being sitting in front of me, and he did stick around longer than three dates, my always-five-steps-ahead brain was lamenting an insane timeline that no one could have lived up to, and I ended up falling down a rabbit hole of anxiety until I had effectively aged myself out of ever having children, not only with him… but with anyone.
Insane, I know. But anxiety is a fickle thing, and at the time it was overwhelming to have to continue to wonder if we were ever going to be more, let alone if we were going to get to move in together.
What I didn’t know is that earlier that day Kris had ventured out on his very first shopping trip for what would eventually become my engagement ring. His reaction to the question wasn’t because he wasn’t thinking about it; rather he was so caught off guard that I had chosen that night to bring it up. In his retelling of the story, his exact thought process was “Does she know? How the hell did she find out? How can I distract her so that this whole surprise proposal thing works out?”
Thankfully, after a few glasses of wine and a return to reason, I made the quick decision not to be totally insane and instead to give him the year he asked for. Essentially, I promised myself I would not harass him about next steps until he was done with grad school; but dammit if I didn’t have a plan of attack for exactly what I would say come the following year when “time officially ran out.”
By the time we flew to Olympia, Washington in the days following Christmas, the idea that a proposal could be on the horizon was the furthest thing from my mind. Why stress myself out over something I knew was impossible? My husband is a “tell it like it is” kind-of-guy. He doesn’t bullshit and he definitely doesn’t lie. So I knew that there was no shot of anything happening until he was done with grad school. Close the book. End of story.
Of course, I learned later that Kris spent the first few days of that trip attempting to plot out the perfect location. In fact, unbeknownst to me, Kris had been plotting since early November when he first started making attempts to ask my dad for his blessing. He finally made it happen Thanksgiving weekend (while standing in the Wilson driveway, packing the car to go back to LA), but he had asked my dad not to tell anyone – including my mom – so that he could ensure the ultimate surprise.
Washington State Capitol and Capitol Lake. Photo by Heidi Marshall Photography.
He chose the rainy afternoon of December 29 to take me to Capitol Lake, a beautiful area just below the Washington Capitol building and adjacent to downtown Olympia. At first we parked on the far side of the lake –the furthest side from town – and started meandering under a shared umbrella, splashing through puddles and enjoying the scenery. Eventually, my lack of rain survival skills got the better of me and I asked if we could please (*please*) move the car closer to town and find shelter out of the rain. This SoCal-raised girl was not holding up well. Mainly because what I thought was appropriate footwear for inclement Pacific Northwest weather was, in fact, not suitable at all. My socks were soaked, my feet were blistering, I was a hot mess and I was trying so hard not to be that annoying person who can’t handle a little wet weather, especially because he had planned this super cute afternoon date, but I just couldn’t hang.
He lovingly obliged my annoying request and eventually we found ourselves perusing old vinyl at Rainy Day Records (the humor is not lost on me) and finally enjoying coffee and tea at the adorable Olympia Coffee. Once the clouds finally parted and a reshuffling of my soaking wet socks produced a more tolerable pain, we decided to walk (read: hike) up to the Capitol building. For anyone who doesn’t know the area – it’s beautiful and well worth the time, but the switchbacks can be killer on soaked feet and a bruised SoCal ego.
“Where would you live if you could live anywhere?” he asked. Odd, I thought. But I liked where his head was finally at.
“Portland or Washington D.C.,” I said. “But honestly, I’d go anywhere as long as I was going there with you.”
“Me too,” he responded. Major heart eyes.
Okay, looking back on it now, it is very clear that he was waiting for the right moment to do something crazy romantic. But again – in my defense – I was in absolute heart protection mode. There was to be no proposal because the man said he needed a year. It had been two months since that conversation and I would have been absolutely nuts to think anything had changed in the meantime. So no… I remained completely oblivious to everything that was right in front of my face. And to be honest, I am so happy that I did.
We drifted back down the hill as it was getting dark and headed out onto a small dock over the water. We plotted new adventures together and rambled on about how much fun the last two years had been. It was all straight-from-the-end-of-a-RomCom-stuff until he abruptly interrupted the moment with, “We should move. It’s too dark here.”
Too dark? I thought. Are we going to get mugged out here?
Moments later we were nestled under our large umbrella further down the lit park pathway. “I hope you know that these past two years have been the happiest of my life,” I said.
Without realizing anything, I had set it up perfectly.
Photo by Heidi Marshall Photography.
“I’m glad you feel that way,” he said, reaching into his pocket. “Because if you’ll let me, I’d like to make you happy forever.” He pulled out the ring and got down on one knee. “Will you marry me?” he asked.
I stood there, stunned.
Complete shock overcame me as I tried to process what was happening. Had I suddenly, without realizing it, transported a year into the future? Because by my understanding, this scenario was not possible. “Are you serious?” were the only words I could summon.
His face cringed a little not knowing exactly what to do with my ridiculous reaction. I’m not usually one to be at a loss for words (hello, have you been reading this super long blog post?), but in this particular moment, I couldn’t summon anything that even resembled a coherent thought other than… “Are you serious?”
After repeating the phrase a few more times, I finally gathered myself together enough to give an enthusiastic “Yes!” and broke into tears. It was beyond perfect and while the emotional turmoil of the preceding months had wreaked havoc on my nervous system, looking back on it, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Kris quickly (a little too quickly) mentioned that we should go to dinner; it was getting late and he was hungry, but I wanted to call my mom. “We’ll call her as soon as we’re done,” he said. And of course, I was too blinded by the brand new (totally stunning) rock on my finger to do anything other than blindly follow him anywhere he wanted to take me.
On arrival, the bartender pointed us toward the back of the restaurant and Kris led me through the maze of empty tables with precision and purpose. When we rounded the corner, I was shocked to see a room full of faces I knew. Kris’s family had gathered for a celebratory dinner! It was so sweet and my heart was so full. I found myself relishing the moment and as overcome with the thought that my little world had collided so splendidly with the worlds of these amazing humans.
And then it happened. As I scanned the room further, my eyes finally landed on my parents.
Yes, the ones who live in San Diego. The ones we had said goodbye to three days earlier before boarding our flight for Christmas break part two: Olympia edition.
I broke into tears*sobs* again. To make for the perfect evening, Kris had managed to pull my dad aside during the Christmas holiday in San Diego and ask if my parents could fly up the night of the proposal. My mom was brought into the scheme as soon as Kris and I left town for Olympia and even though it was last minute, they dropped everything to be there for the big moment. It was truly the most magical moment and my heart bursts to this day thinking about the time and attention to detail that my amazing husband put into making it perfect for me.
Flash forward to three years later.
We’re bundled up on the couch, experiencing an uncharacteristically cold December weekend in Los Angeles and eagerly anticipating the birth of our first child. We opted to stay close to our OBs and hospital this holiday, for obvious reasons. We miss the Washington family dearly and we miss doing our walk around the lake. But feeling cozy under the handmade blanket given to us by my sister-in-law for our wedding, I have loved recounting every minute of this very special day.
And when the time comes, I can’t wait to return to this important place in our family’s history and tell Baby O all about the time Dad asked Mom to spend the rest of their lives together.
Footnote: if you’re in the Western Washington state area, give Heidi Marshall Photography a ring. She has an awesome eye and perfectly captured our engagement walk nearly 8 months later (luckily, when it wasn’t raining).
Recently, the future hubsters recommended we take date night to a pizza place. I laughed and nearly choked on my water. Wasn’t he there for the whole “I’m foregoing cheese and wheat for the foreseeable future” conversation? I’m pretty sure I remember him being present.
In his defense, I’ve been known to fall off this no-cheese, no-wheat wagon a time or two (or twenty). But we are currently in a place where we’re roughly 200 days away from the wedding and I’m being forced to go to dress fittings, so for now, we’re (read: I’m) really trying to stay on top of that constantly wobbly wagon. Also in his defense, he was super on top of things (as always) and he thought ahead.
Did you know Blaze Pizzaserves a gluten-free crust (cool!) and vegan cheese (super cool!)? I’m apparently quite late to this party, but… after a quick glance at their website, I was stoked to find a build-your-own pizza option that offers both (P.S. all of their crust is also vegan). And because I am suspiciously intrigued by taste testing “faux” cheese, I eagerly agreed to the date (let’s be real, I would have agreed regardless, but this news made it extra sweet).
The “fast-casual” dining experience is a Chipotle for pizza. It has a ton of amazing pre-built options for the wheat-eating, cheese-consuming among us (jealous) and a BYO option for those of a more food-sensitive persuasion. Kris ordered a delicious looking pesto pie (not dairy-free FYI) while I set my sights on the assortment of fresh veggies they had on display behind the counter. After piling marinara sauce, vegan cheese, spinach, banana peppers, minced garlic, roasted red peppers, and a pinch of salt on top of a gluten-free crust, they threw it into the large pizza oven and we waited.
And… waited.
My BYO Blaze pizza, burned edges and all.
My pizza took far longer than others. Like, Kris’s pizza was close to getting cold before my name was called. I’m assuming the vegan cheese threw them. As many of you well know, faux cheese can be difficult to melt. Depending on the brand, you can blast it with a blowtorch and it stays perfectly proportioned into straight little shreds.
But melt it they did, my friends! They burned the edges of the crust just a weeeee bit too much for my liking, but all was forgiven as soon as I bit into it, because OH-EM-GEE this pizza was amazing. I don’t know if it was the minced garlic or that extra pinch of salt, or if Blaze really is that skilled at making gluten-free crust, but this pizza seriously rocked. The crust lacked that chalky, often dry texture that usually comes from a gluten free dough. And the cheese was melted to perfection and had that delicious balance of creaminess and saltiness that you expect from the real thing. My only regret? Not adding the artichoke hearts and, like, the thousand other toppings they had.
As luck would have it, there was a soft-serve place in the same shopping center that served vegan ice cream (we spotted it while standing in line!). So we each only ate half of our pizzas, boxed up the rest, and took our date-night over to Swirl. This very simple ice cream spot is small, but serves up a heck of a lot of charm. The vegan ice cream is limited – one rotating item per day – but what they lack in options, they surely make up for in super cute decor. The vegan item of the day was Pistachio Coconut. I was hesitant at first (coconut and I are super cool, pistachio has never been a flavor I get the feels for), but I am so glad that I went for it anyway.
The cutest wall decor at Swirl
The flavor was rich and seemed to get more complex with every bite. Kris layered his non-vegan lemon flavor with a ton of fruit flavored cereal, which looked (and smelled) delicious. He assured me it was.
All-in-all, it was a sweetly successful FriYAY date-night (thanks, babe!) and super fun checking out not one but TWO local eateries that cater to the food sensitive and vegan among us! See the location deets below for more info if you’re L.A. local and want to check these super awesome options out for yourself!
Ashley Okimoto 